In his book, "The Demon Haunted World," Carl Sagan asks: "What is the common thread that binds these ads together?"

Sagan goes on to explain, "Not UFOs. Surely it's the expectation of unlimited audience gullibility. That's why they're placed in UFO magazines -- because by and large the very act of buying such a magazine so categorizes the reader."

I would take that thought one step further: Audience gullibility doesn't just apply to people who are into UFOs. Audience gullibility applies to everyone. To get attention, professional advertisers rely on emotions and hooks that pull people into their content.

The upshot is this: IF YOU CREATE relevant content based on psychological hooks, you'll build a loyal audience.

Below are 5 of of those patterns.

Let's see how they can help us become better producers of content -- and more successful social media marketers.

1. Create content to evoke emotions of awe

Bigfoot and other pseudoscience create an idea of a universe of possibility. "Awe" has a wide range of emotions that can bring pleasure, happiness, reverence, or power, dread and fear.

This feeling of awe affects almost everyone. It brings feelings of amazement and appreciation for life. Awe inspires, motivates, expands people's perception of time, alters decision-making and enhances well-being.

Those emotions are magnetic. People want to feel moved in some direction.

And all those emotions can be extremely successful social media strategy: IF YOU CREATE relevant content that creates emotions of awe, people will follow.

Posts like 19 Awesome Faces of Nature share well because of the emotion those pictures create. It's not just a collection of beautiful pictures, it's a collection of awe-inspiring pictures:

This one is similar and had thousands of shares. For the average person, these places are unreal...

2. Create content based on the idea that there's something beyond our reality

Bigfoot inspires hope that there's something more to this world than what is seen and known. It's a case of the mundane being blown away by awe.

It's imagination brought to reality. It's stuff like this article explaining that our origin may lie somewhere else in the universe:

And this one telling us WE MIGHT BE SASQUATCH! Combine that with a picture of someone who could pass for Bigfoot... and the possibilities seem endless.

This post about a potential massive underground ocean makes us believe there is more to our Earth than we know. What kind of life might be there? Some people believe in the Hollow Earth Theory, which postulates a whole other civilization unknown to us.

3. Create content to educate a niche audience

This hook is extremely important for ongoing social media content. The post below analyzes Yeti hair in a way that educates and informs a niche audience. In content marketing you need to become the best answer to all the questions within your industry.

Here's another good example of educating an audience on the state of Bigfoot: "A New Estimate of the Situation."

4. Create content sure to drive curiosity

Curiosity is a powerful force in content. And few things hit the curiosity button like Bigfoot and aliens. Here's a report that seems to show something entering our atmosphere and ejecting an object in the opposite direction. If that doesn't get you concerned, better check your pulse!